Wee bit of too much of all encompassing statement on state of his game following the year layoff. "Nothing" is smooth, lacks moves. Still finding his rhythm just like Kobe. Both looked much better in 2nd game
Gotcha RandleROFY, my sarcasm radar must have been off. But yeah, I hope that he does actually start working hard on that right hand. Watching the top 10 moments of Worthy the other night reminded me of how good Big Game was with his off hand. I bet he will be emphasizing that to Julius at some point in his tutelage.
The kid is going to be a monster. When he got rolling in the 3rd quarter he was basically unstoppable. The defense either packs the paint or he gets in there and is a bull in a china cabinet. I absolutely loved the Hakeem fade in the paint. Beautiful. It was also the same shot he was practicing earlier that day so it's great to see him putting practice to work. Everyone was so quick to bury this kid after one pre-season game, the tone all changed in here!
I won't lie, he's my favorite Laker to watch. 17, 5 and 3, plus the highlight of the night? That'll do just fine.
When taking into account this is basically his first season and he's putting in performances like this in preseason, I'm more and more impressed. It seems like he's still adjusting to the speed of the game but even still, he is straight up dominating out there! I love the fact that one point in the game he was demanding the ball and it finally got to him. This kid is special.
May be, just may be, the naysayers should listen to people that play with and against him everyday - his teammates, who nothing but raved about his abilities.
Julius moves those fast feet of his well on defense too it seems to me. Another good game from him tonight with more "flashes" of greatness to come showcased.
I was thinking something similar last night. His combination of strength, size, and athleticism is not very common. Add to that a good attitude and strong work ethic and he will be an absolute monster in a few years.
He's a nightmarish mismatch for PF's because of his quickness for his size. If he can stay healthy and keep working with guys like MWP and Worthy the sky's the limit for this kid. I can already see the influence both of them are having on him. In Summer League he was still narrowly focused on getting his own. After scrimmaging this summer against MWP he is kicking out more when it's just not there for him or when he draws a double. I saw the Worthy influence in a possession at the high post where he jab stepped twice then beat his defender off the dribble - it was pure Big Game James and great to see. He's improving on D. The first game he was pretty bad at recognizing when to rotate on team D, but he's starting to get in the swing and I think it'll get better. Brandon Bass might be a better fit for the first unit for the early part of the year because of this and I wouldn't might if they switched that necessarily. It all depends on what is going to lead to wins which they need desperately without overplaying Kobe or now Hibbert in terms of big minutes.
